Serpents
by TrueForeverBethyl
Summary: Bethyl AU. Set in the zombie apocalypses. Beth and Daryl meet Morgan and he brings them to the funeral home, after that they reunite with their family, and keep surviving, but time has proved to always be an issue. Will Beth be able to tell Daryl what she needs to in time? Or will it be too late?
1. Chapter 1

Serpents

1

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It hadn't always been this way. There was a time when all of my family wasn't crowded together is this small funeral home just outside of Senoia, Georgia. We had all lived in this giant prison, the _West Georgia Correctional Facility_ ; we had our own rooms, well cells, and just space. Space from each other, and space from any looming danger. You see, that all came to an end when Philip Blake, the Governor drove through our gates. He murdered my father, and his men took the lives of many other inhabitants that were hidden behind the concrete walls. What were we to do but flee? He had an army tank pointed straight towards us, we fought for as long as we could, we had guns and ammunition, hell we won the fight, but did we really? While we were all consumed with this rage to kill and protect our families we lost what mattered the most, our home. It took two hours for us to be driven out of our land by walkers and explosions. Initially I was alone with Daryl, that was until we ran into this man named Morgan, he seemed quite deranged at first, but after awhile Daryl and I came to realize it was because of how much he'd lost.

Morgan brought us to this building settled in the trees, and protected by numerous tombstones. We would be living at a funeral home, it wasn't supposed to be permanent, just temporary, for the time being, but wouldn't you know not even two days later Rick, Carl, and Michonne were on our front porch. It turned out that Rick and Morgan had met before, at the very beginning, and that Morgan was the one who saved Rick, even before Glenn had the chance. It took a few days for Daryl and I to adjust back to life with people other than each other and Morgan, we had been separated for months, I would say around four or five, no one really knew what day it was anymore, you just rose and fell with the sun.

Rick was persistent on finding the others, while Daryl and I were a bit wearier of the whole ordeal; for at least two out of our months alone we spent the entire time searching for everyone else. Although we didn't find anyone else, some of the others did find us. But here we were searching high and low for everyone else Rick was guessing to be alive. I had given up on finding my sister a while back, since no hint of her survival existed, but Daryl was there to push me along, even in my hard times. The tow of us had grown quite close to one another, and even shared a bed, which seemed to baffle Rick and the others, but the never spoke a word of it.

All of us were searching for ages before we came across a hint to where everyone else was. There was a sign, left by my sister, telling Glenn to go to a place called Terminus. Terminus was the spot where all the train tracks met. I was hurt that my sister had no hope of me being alive to find her, and Daryl must have saw because he moved to my side and gripped my hand in his, and began to rub circles along the back of it.

Once we found community we were all impressed. They looked to have been a sanctuary, but the truth that lied beneath the surface was nothing short of haunting. It turned out that they were a group of cannibals, and their posters were used as a beacon to attract survivors for their food. They had their captives locked up in train cars, much like corralled animals for slaughter, and human bones were left scattered inside this small fence within the perimeter. While on our mission to rescue the others we ran into Carol before she ignited the giant fuel tank just inside their gates. We watched from a distance as a group of survivors ran back towards the cover of the building, trying to avoid evident doom as a herd of walkers, easily over 500, infiltrated their so called sanctuary.

Morgan and I waited just outside the fence to the left of the trap. Daryl, Rick and Carol had jumped the fence and went the rescue the others, I had to admit I was worried until all of my family was climbing over the railing, of course Rick was the last one over, risking his life for everyone else's. I walked over to Daryl, pushing past my sister, and threw my arms around his neck, his own arms circling my waist. Once I let go my sister came over to me and pulled me into her arms, giving me a hug, which I didn't return. I remembered saying something like _thanks for looking for me_ or _I bet you're happy knowing I survived_ before I pushed away from her and stood beside Daryl.

No one really had a fair amount of time to welcome each other back before we were running away from Terminus and towards a cabin North of the camp. Apparently Ty and Judith were there, waiting for Carol to get back, even Mika had made it out alive, and was taken under Carol's wing before running into Ty and Judith. The look on Rick's face when he was reunited with his daughter was priceless, but I couldn't help but feel detached, like all these people in front of me were strangers, and some of them were. I had no relationship with the red haired man named Abraham, or with the young survivors in Rosita and Eugene, but it didn't take long for me to form bonds with them.

Now here all of us were, building a new life for ourselves in this tiny funeral home. I had not been assigned to babysitting duty, not since Rick came to terms with my survival skills. Daryl had taught me how to use his crossbow, but it was the compound bow that I had taken a liking to. We grabbed it on a run awhile back and I picked it up, just in case, and began to teach myself how to use to. I started off just using it around the funeral home to kill squirrels, and take down walkers. It was no easier to learn than Daryl's crossbow, and I enjoyed the challenge of discovering it. Of course Daryl was able to help me along the way due to the many similarities, but the majority of my learning was done on my own.

It had taken my sister awhile to come to terms with the fact that I was just as capable of surviving on my own as she was, I was positive she still considered me weak, but the fact that people always suggested taking me on runs before her must have hurt her confidence. She stopped trying to get me to stay and watch Judith so I would be "safe", and she could go out on the runs not long after I came back from a run with Daryl holding two full baskets full of canned goods.

I had taken down over thirty walkers that day, over half of them with my knife. Daryl and I had gotten ourselves cornered inside of this supermarket, the place was untouched, and we were excited until a door swung open revealing too many walkers, so many I couldn't count. But we had made it home safe, and even made a few more trips back to get anything else that seemed fit.

I went to the medicine isle and took everything from the shelves, even grabbing the dozen boxes of condoms, all in various sizes. With all the couples we had at the funeral home, it was best they kept things safe, I wasn't sure if we could handle another baby. I didn't even give it a second thought before I put them in my bag, but it did spark conversation before Daryl and I went to bed. He had gone in my bag looking for the mints I grabbed awhile back, but was met with dozens of boxes of condoms. I remember him looking at me with a smirk on his face and him asking me what I had grabbed them for. I had just rolled my eyes and gone to bed, and now here I was the next morning lying on my side with Daryl wrapped around me as he slept. I didn't move because I didn't want to wake him, he needed more sleep than usual because he had late watch today, and we couldn't risk him falling asleep.

"Why are you awake?" He grumbled in my ear, startling me, causing me to jump up and fall on the floor. "Damn girl are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine." I snapped as I stood up off the floor, wiping off the back of my legs. "You should go back to sleep, you have last watch tonight."

"I've been awake for awhile, I was waiting to see if you'd go back to sleep." He drawled sitting up. His chest was exposed to me and his tattoo was on display, if he saw me staring he didn't comment on it, and stretched his arms above his head much like they used to in the movies before he stood up. It wasn't the first time I had seen his back, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last. "Get ready, lets go get some breakfast."

I threw on my jeans and a black tank top, it was the middle of fall, but the Georgia weather was fine until winter was in full swing. I sat back down on the bed and laced up my boots, I reached down and grabbed my bag that was lent against the nightstand before I walked behind Daryl. As usual he was ready before me, but waited anyway, not wanting me to be left alone. That was what things had become between us. The first night we were here and Morgan was on watch he all but told me I had changed his mind and that there were still good people in this world, he had also admitted his feeling for me that night. I had never gotten the time to tell him how I felt, and I still hadn't there was just never time for it, but I decided I would find the time eventually. I could see Carol making advances at him, and I would watch him brush it off, but I feared if I didn't admit my feelings he would one day accept her offer. I stopped at the top of the stairs hearing everyone moving around below us.

"Daryl, wait I have to-" I began to say, but was cut off by Carol opening the door to her bedroom and walking out.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked Daryl giving me a look as if warning me to back off, to which I just rolled my eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me!"

"You're not my mother." I spat at her only to hear her growl at me.

"Beth, go down stairs, I'll be there in a minute." Daryl spoke motioning for me to leave them be.

"But I was going to tell you something." I whispered, not wanting Carol to hear me.

"Well, whatever you were going to say can wait, " Carol began snidely. "What we need to talk about is very important adult matters, so if you would leave us to talk that would be great."

"Excuse me?" I snapped, taking a step forward so I was in front of Daryl. "Don't you dare treat me like a child."

"Why not? You are one." She raised her eyebrows ignoring the group of people gathered at the base of the staircase.

"She's far from a child." Daryl barked beside me gripping my arm to pull me away from Carol. "Now tell me what you were going to and get on with it. I don't need to deal with this shit."

"It doesn't matter, I see were you stand on the matter anyway." With that she descended the stairs and walked out the front door. Daryl looked back at me and motioned for me to go down the stairs once more, but this time I shook my head.

"No, I really need to tell you this." I demandedcrossing my arm to show him I wasn't giving up on this. I began to open my mouth when I heard Glenn yell from their room downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked stepping forward, both Daryl and I were witnessing the scene from the balcony. "Glenn, you've got to calm down and talk to me."

"Maggie, she's, well she's,"

"Spit it out, man!" Michonne yelled, snapping him out of his daze.

"Maggie, she's pregnant." Glenn said, looking from face to face before he landed on mine. "Beth she wants you to come talk to her, please. She really needs you right now, she's really shaken up."

"I'll be there in a minute," I said before turning back to Daryl. " I really need to talk to you about this now."

"We can talk about whatever it is later, for now go to your sister. I'm going to go hunting for awhile see what I can find, I promise we'll talk about it later."

"But, Daryl, I really need to tell you-"

"Beth. Later." Daryl said before walking away from me and down the stairs, shouldering his crossbow.

"I really need to tell you I love you." I whispered almost inaudibly, completely defeated. I tucked my head down so I was looking at the floor, and started the short walk towards my sister's room. How could this day get any worse?

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Please review and favorite it means a lot! Also, thank you for reading this, I hope it wasn't too hard to follow! Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

Serpents

2

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I walked down the stairs so slowly I probably looked like I wasn't moving. I did not want to go talk with my sister, and I was slightly regretting not yelling at Daryl and telling him to stay put and listen to what I have to say, but here I was walking down the hallway towards my sister's room.

"Oh, Beth, thank God." Maggie said as I walked under the threshold. Her eyes were wide and puffy, and the corners were red. Her hair was sticking out in every direction, it looked as if it had been pulled, not hard enough to rip it out, but still a little too much tugging had went on.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, I sat on the opposite corner of the bed, not wanting to get too close. We had resolved our issues, but our relationship was never the same.

She took a deep breath before responding; to me it looked like the words were trapped in her throat. "I heard what Glenn said and I'm not actually pregnant. He needed an excuse to get you in here, but now we'll have to figure out a way to explain the mistake to everyone else."

"You're not pregnant." I stated, but it was more of a question. I was utterly confused, what was so important that they had to come up with a lie to get me away from everyone else?

"Beth, I don't know how to tell you this." Maggie was looking at her hands before she dashed to the door and turned over the lock. Apparently it was so important no one could barge in on our conversation. "Glenn and I were just about asleep last night when we heard someone talking outside our door."

"Okay…" I muttered, wanting her to get to the point.

"They were talking to someone else, maybe even two people, but Beth, they were talking about you." She was now looking up into my eyes, fear spread through her own, and she moved closer to me, close enough to whisper in my ear. "They were saying that you've changed too much, and that you don't belong here anymore. They knew Rick would never kick you out, so they were thinking of ways to get rid of you. They were speaking as if you were a piece of garbage to be thrown away. Beth, you need to be careful, we don't know who it is."

"I might have an idea." I spat, jerking my head to the side as I heard two sets of footsteps come through the front door.

"Who? We know it isn't Rick, and it can't be Daryl, you two are too close, and he'll barely let you out of his sight…" Maggie trailed off.

"Carol." I whispered, "she's had it out for me ever since Daryl and I became so close."

"Carol? Really? I know you two don't exactly get along, but I don't think she would be willing to get rid of you." Maggie said, slouching her shoulders to ease some of the stiffness.

"She said she needed to talk to Daryl this morning. That is was adult matters that didn't concern me. She told me I was a child." I looked over at Maggie watching the expression on her face.

"I think she is just jealous that Daryl is spending his time with you instead of her now, maybe she just needs a friend? Why don't you try to work things out with her, because I am positive it wasn't Carol." My sister whispered again, now leaning back against the wall.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because she was still on the run when I went out to get more blankets this morning. She just got back a few hours ago." By now my head was in a tizzy, I had so many mixed emotions. Why would anyone want me gone, and what was Carol's problem with me? "Beth just keep your eyes open, please? I just need you to stay safe."

"I'll be careful, now I'll send Glenn back in, so you two can come up with an excuse as to why you aren't with child, thanks to the lovely reason your husband came up with this morning so you could tell me all this new information." I walked across the room, and unlocked the door before turning the handle, giving my sister another smile before exiting.

I saw Glenn instantly; he was leant up against the wall waiting for me to come out of their room. Tara was right there with him; she had gotten so close and become good friends with both of them after their differences were settled. I nodded telling them they could go in before I walked further down the hall. I spotted Daryl and Carol sitting on the front porch, and made my way outside. As soon as I opened the door both their heads were facing my direction.

"Can I talk to you?" Carol just nodded her approval. "Alone…"

Daryl stood up and walked back inside the house, leaving the two of us by ourselves. I took Daryl's spot next to her and made myself as comfortable as was possible before I turned to face her.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is with me all of a sudden, but we used to be friends, and whatever happened between us I would like to move on from. There is no point having anymore enemies than you need in a world like this." I extended my hand, which to my surprise she took quickly.

"I'm sorry Beth, I haven't meant to be so awful to you lately, there's been a lot on my mind." She paused and looked out on to the cemetery. "It was Sophia's birthday two days ago, and I just took a toll on me. As for before today, it was just the fact that at such a young age you have the mentality of someone much more mature, and sometimes I think you're wiser than myself. It's just hard to see all the people you love die, and you somehow seem to always keep their memories and personalities alive through yourself. You remind me of my daughter in that way."

"Oh Carol, I'm so sorry." I whispered pulling her into a hug, "that's just how I honor the dead, by keeping them alive in my heart. I meant now harm"

"And I didn't meant to give you the cold shoulder. For that I apologize." She spoke her chin still resting on my shoulder.

"Apology accepted." I took a second before continuing, "and I don't want to make it seem like I'm taking Daryl from you. If that's what you think."

"Oh, that's nothing, he's just a good friend, and I can see that you two care for each other quite a lot. He loves you, you know that right?" Carol asked me giving me a look saying _I know what I'm talking about_.

"I was actually trying to tell him how I feel this morning…" I said ducking my head, so my reddening cheeks were hidden from view.

"Oh, my, I'm sorry!" Carol said exasperated. "This is all my fault."

"No it isn't. Don't you even say that." I responded quickly. Suddenly the front door burst open and Mika came rushing out.

"Hurry. We need to grab our things, there's a herd coming straight toward the house!" I watched as Carol was dragged off inside, and Daryl scurried out the door not long after carrying both of our things.

"Go throw these in the back of the van," I stood there for a moment before Daryl yelled at me. "Now, Beth!"

I ran off toward the van and somehow managed to throw everything inside before a walker grabbed on to my shoulder. Before I could push it off a bolt was sticking into its head. I grabbed the bolt and sprinted towards the forest green truck. Daryl was sitting in the drivers seat not long after I slammed my door. Sasha, Bob, and Carol were in the truck bed banging on us to start moving.

"Daryl, we need to go!" I hollered, "It's lost!"

"For fucks sake Glenn!" Daryl screeched as Glenn just barely managed to get inside the van before Rick drove off, we weren't far behind before Daryl told me to get the walkie-talkie from his belt. "Ask Rick where we're going."

I did as I was told and turned on the device. "Rick, its Beth, Daryl wants to know where you plan on going."

"No clue. Any ideas?" Michonne's voice echoed threw the tiny speaker. I looked to my right and saw Daryl shrug, and then I suddenly got an idea.

"Tell Rick to go back to our farm. It's worth a shot. That was a year or so ago, all the walkers should be cleared out. We might even have some produce left." I offered, I watched Daryl as his face contorted, clearly thinking over what I said, to see if it made, any sense before nodding his head.

"Alright, Maggie is going to give us directions. Remember to save the battery. Over and out."

"Who does she think she is, a cop?" Daryl sassed next to me, I huffed out a small laugh in response. It was becoming clear to me that all the memories our family made at the funeral home was gone, just like the prison. They were swept right out from under our feet and there was nothing we could do about it.

For the sake of everyone in the back I hoped it wasn't a cold night. It would take us a few hours to get there, and it being late in the afternoon in the middle of fall wasn't a good sign. Then I remembered we had some blankets under the seat, so they would be just fine. We might only have two, but someone can share.

Suddenly Daryl spoke up, breaking the silence within the cab of the truck. "You've had something on your mind for the entire ride. What is it?"

"Its nothing, just the fact that we had another close call and lost yet another place we cared too much about. Why can't we just not get attached to anything anymore."

"Cus' getting attached isn't something you can control." He muttered under his breath and my breathing stopped.

"Daryl I-"

"Its nothing, never mind." He spoke quietly, facing forwards.

"No damn it! Its not! Why won't you listen to me when I try and tell you something?" I snapped at him, not caring if it hurt him or not. " I feel the same way about you, but you never give me the chance to say so! God Daryl! We're running on limited time in this world, and you avoiding the obvious don't help anyone! There I said it!"

"Beth, I didn't mean-" He began to say.

"If you don't feel the same way anymore that's fine, I wish you would just listen to me!"

"You deserve someone better Beth…" He whispered, trying not to look me in the eye.

"You don't know just how good you are, do you Daryl Dixon?" I said quietly, "You are what it means to be good Daryl. You are everything good and whole in this world."

"You're lying." He neck flushing a deep red.

"I'm not, you're just too blind to see it."

"How long have you known how I felt?" He asked suddenly, his head turning toward mine.

"Since the first night in the funeral home." I admitted, "It only took me a few days to realize my feelings were the same, but after that I never got the chance to tell you, something always come up, or we were always interrupted."

"I'm not like Jimmy, or Zach." He stated, looking anywhere but at me.

"I know, and I don't want you to be like them. I love you for you Daryl. I love you for the rough rugged man that you are. I love you for how sensitive you are when you're with me, and I love you for how you aren't scared to be who you really are when we're together. You don't need to be like them, I never loved them like I love you anyhow."

He was tripping over his words when he slammed on the breaks. The van had come to a stop and Rick jumped out and ran to our vehicle. Daryl rolled the window down and lent out, trying to listen. I caught parts of how we weren't going to the farm, and how he had seen something much better up in the distance. Somewhere we could survive. I tried to push the negative thoughts about the farm, the prison, and the funeral home from my mind, but it seemed like nothing could do the trick, so I did the only thing I could think of, and tried to fall asleep.

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I just wanted to say a big thank you to all of those who commented on the last chapter! It meant so much and I tried to respond to as many of you as I could! Please, please, please keep reviewing and favoriting and all that good stuff!

Beth dropped a big bomb this chapter but from what I can tell Daryl is handling it very well! I can't wait to continue! Happy reading!


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